Like Streams to the Ocean: Notes on Ego, Love, and the Things That Make Us Who We Are: Essaysc

Like Streams to the Ocean: Notes on Ego, Love, and the Things That Make Us Who We Are: Essaysc

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “As inviting, wide-ranging, and philosophical as an all-night conversation with a best friend, and as revealing and thought-provoking as the diary of a curious adventurer.”—Sasha Sagan, author of  For Small Creatures Such as We You can travel the world looking for yourself, but if you don't know what you're looking for, how can you find it?  Like Streams To The Ocean  is about examining the things that make us who we are and getting to know ourselves, our stories, and the decisions that shape our one and only life.    Writing with the passion and clarity that made his debut,  To Shake the Sleeping Self , a national bestseller, Jedidiah Jenkins brings together new and old writings to explore the eight subjects that give life meaning: ego, family, home, friendship, love, work, death, the soul. Who am I? What am I made of? How much of how I act boils down to avoiding the things that make me feel small? As he examines the experiences that shape our conscious and subconscious answers to these questions, Jenkins leads readers in a wide-ranging conversation about finding fulfillment in the people and places around us and discovering the courage to show our deepest selves to the world. “Jenkins’s thoughts on ego, family, home, friendship, love, work, death and the soul include pithy ones like, ‘It can be hard to tell the difference between an outcast and a pioneer,’ and ‘Your sense of self is built or broken by the company you keep.’” — The Washington Post , “10 Books to Read in February” “Jedidiah Jenkins is a beautiful, attentively humane writer whose vivid prose comes suffused with the noble belief that words really do matter, and that through them we can know and be known. There is wisdom in this book, as well as something rarer still: the genuine and infectious faith that the good life—what the philosophers call flourishing—is attainable, and that one really can improve. I couldn’t put these essays down.” —Thomas Chatterton Williams, author of Self-Portrait in Black and White “ Like Streams to the Ocean is as inviting, wide-ranging, and philosophical as an all-night conversation with a best friend, and as revealing and thought-provoking as the diary of a curious adventurer.” —Sasha Sagan, author of For Small Creatures Such as We “It’s rare to find the level of honesty and authenticity that Jenkins brings to his audience. In a world of constant noise, his storytelling is piercing in an almost familiar way. He’s managed to home in on that single idea that we all relate to and truly make you feel a part of the experience. This is the type of storytelling the world needs more of.” —Chris Burkard, award-winning photographer, author of At Glacier’s End Praise for To Shake the Sleeping Self “With winning candor, Jedidiah Jenkins takes us with him as he bicycles across two continents and delves deeply into his own beautiful heart. Every page of this book made me ache to know what happened next. Every chapter shimmered with truth. It’s an unforgettable debut.” —Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild “At once an adventure story and personal diary of the internal struggles and ultimate triumph of a deeply thoughtful gay man.” — The Advocate Jedidiah Jenkins is a travel writer, an entrepreneur, and the New York Times bestselling author of To Shake the Sleeping Self . A graduate of USC and Pepperdine University School of Law, Jenkins began his professional career with the nonprofit Invisible Children, where he helped orchestrate multinational campaigns to end the use of child soldiers in central Africa. His parents, Peter and Barbara Jenkins, are the authors of the bestselling A Walk Across America series. He is the executive editor of Wilderness magazine. Jenkins’s work has appeared in The Paris Review and Playboy , and he has been covered by National Geographic . Chapter 1 Ego When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.—John Muir My friend Lauren cofounded a nonprofit called Kind Campaign. She travels to schools around the country and speaks with young girls about bullying, unhealthy friendship, and identity. She looks younger than she is, she is stylish, and she is beautiful. This piques the girls’ attention, that she is some strange creature who is adult and cool, yet young and definitely not a teacher. At these talks, Lauren shares her story of being bullied in seventh grade and how it spiraled her into a severe depression and suicidal state. She teaches the girls that sometimes it’s hard to see outside their school hallways. How, even though it feels like school is their entire world, it’s important to realize it’s just one chapter of their story. That there’s beauty, friendship, adventure, and so much life lying ahead of them. And to know that when they are struggling with things that feel big and scary, they can reach out for help. That no one has to suffer alone. She once told me a story of a high s